CoAGG Presents Panel Conference On Slavery, Genocide And Reparations

“Why don’t scholars of Genocide and Slavery talk to one another? A conversation on genocide and slavery could yield important truths about ‘man’s inhumanity to man,’ both in the past, and in ways that might prevent this in the future,” mused Program Committee Co-Chair Prof. Arthur Gilbert, during a recent planning meeting.

In a society burgeoning with acceptance for new additions to the lexicon, there are a few words that remain taboo; and ultimately unspoken. Three of those words – genocide, slavery, and reparations – will be the focal point of an upcoming conference at Metropolitan State University.
In November, the Coalition Against Global Genocide (CoAGG) will seek to explore inhumane truths for the preservation of human lives everywhere.

In cooperation with faculty from Metropolitan State University and the University of Denver, the CoAGG will hold a panel conference on Genocide,Slaveryand Reparations on Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at St. Cajetan’s. The conference will be split in two 75 minute sessions, and will also include lunch and a video presentation between the sessions.

The morning roundtable session, “Awareness and Prevention,” will address questions such as 1.) What can be done when we see early acts of genocide or slavery stripping victims of names, cultural traditions, and other forms of identity in a way that allows crimes against humanity? and 2.) How can we raise awareness of these acts of genocide and slavery before they are used to justify economic gains for one part of society at the expense of another?

The afternoon roundtable session, “Reconciliation and Reparation,” will address questions such as

1.) What can be done once genocide or slavery become successful in stripping victims of social identities in order to justify economic gains for one part of society at the expense of another? and 2.) Must reparations be only in the form of financial compensation for illicit economic gains, or might reparations include social and emotional responses to restore the injuries associated with social death?

“Slavery and genocide often go together. The point isn’t to decide which is worse, but to understand the commonalities that allow both to happen,” says Tim Kubik, co-chair of CoAGG program committee.
“When Hannah Arendt coined the phrase “Man’s inhumanity to man” she was commenting on genocide, not slavery, but one rarely finds the one without the other. Though often separated along racial lines in the Americas, slavery is connected with the economic exploitation of human beings, which presumes those human beings must be kept alive to be exploited. By contrast, while economic gains are often at the root of genocide, these come from eliminating a population, not exploiting it,” he says.

“Our aim in convening this roundtable/conference is not to make moral judgments about whether the experience of genocide or slavery was worse. Understood as global phenomena, the genesis of slavery and genocide rely on common acts of dehumanization. A conversation on genocide and slavery could yield important truths about “Man’s inhumanity to man,” both in the past, and in ways that might prevent this in the future.”

Editor’s note: Those interested in participating as a guest speaker or panelist, email Timothy Kubik at kubikhan@mac.com. For sponsorship opportunities, email Roz Duman at rozduman@aol.com. For more information and conference updates, visit www.coagg.org.